Mob detection switch help

[Magicthize]

I'm trying to refine my slaughterhouse so that I don't generate the overcrowding that is the big problem with my existing setup. Currently 2 animals are kept in a 5x5 pen with access to a breeder. Once they breed the babies are moved to a 2nd pen. Here they grow up naturally before being slaughtered. The issue I'm having is that the growth process takes alot longer than the breeding process so inevitably I end up with an overcrowded growth pen. I'd like to be able to switch off the breeder when there are more than, for example, 5 mobs in the growth pen but I can't figure out a way to do it reliably.

[Viktor_Berg]

I tried to think up an ad-hoc solution to this, and here's what I came up with:

There are 3 pens - one for breeding, one for children, and one for grown up children. There is a know amount of adults in the breeding pen, say 8. One round of breeding will therefore produce 4 children. These children will be transferred to a second pen, BUT! Behind the prototyper, there is a pressure plate. Once the animal is transferred to the other side, it triggers that pressure plate, which will activate a piston to push it off the plate (you can use cows, which are more than 1.5 blocks tall) and down into the second pen, which is 2 blocks below the pressure plate (so that cows cannot walk/jump back onto the plate).

Now, this same pressure plate is connected to either a PRC or a computer, which will have a counter of sorts. Once it counts to 4 (4 children have passed the system), it knows that all the adults in the first pen have bred and produced children. Thus, it sends a redstone signal to the Breeder, shutting it down.

The 4 children in the second pen eventually grow up, and get chronotyped into the third pen, with the exact same counting system. This system does the opposite of what the previous one does, and re-enables the Breeder once all 4 children have grown up, been transferred and slaughtered.

[Teraku]

I'm not sure, but couldn't you use something like ComputerCraft and OpenCCSensors to detect how many animals there are, then turn the Breeder off once the count hits 5 or something?

[Magicthize]

I had considered this but ComputerCraft is one of those things that I can't even begin to get my head around.

[Calvariae]

Another alternative is to use Growth Hormones and a Veterinarian Station. The downside is that you need lots of carrots and gold. Of course, you could also use the cheaper Zombie Syringe, but then you'll have to put up some anti-zombie counter measures.

[Magicthize]

I'd rather not use the Vet station. Speed is not a concern and natural growth is alot less resource intensive in comparison.